2020 Year in Review: The Rise of “Work From Home” Scams

Welcome to the December 2020 edition of our newsletter!  In this issue, we’ll look back upon the year that was, and at how the events that transpired have affected fraud trends.

A Crisis of Health Becomes a Crisis of Trust: Exploiting Coronavirus

As the coronavirus pandemic upended the lives most of us knew, our foundational beliefs were also thrown off their axis, no more so than a fundamental sense of trust.  While fraudsters have always taken advantage of the human tendency to trust others, with the normal way of life suddenly in flux for so many, the opportunities for exploitation increased dramatically.

For some frauds, careful planning and targeting of individuals is required.  Such is the case with affinity fraud, where unscrupulous members of a civic or religious group will prey upon their fellow members and the trust built in their community.  Whether peddling phony questionable investments in a time where finances are uncertain, or a bogus charity when the need to give is most great, these fraudsters will use what they know of their fellow members to gain esteem and then siphon the victims’ assets.  Whether via Ponzi schemes or the sale of unregistered and possibly fake securities, these fraudsters will also exploit the perception, especially as markets crashed in the spring, that fewer places exist to make your dollars grow.  Researching an individual’s background, and that of the product they’re selling can help protect yourself and fellow members from such exploitation.

In other frauds, volume is the key – simply reaching as many people as possible and hoping a few unsuspecting marks will take the bait.  This can be the case with promises of “work from home” opportunities, likely targeting people who find themselves suddenly, and with great difficulty, having to generate income while also home-schooling one or more children over the Internet.  The promise of being able to do marketing or editing work, or filling out surveys, in the little spare time one has in these circumstances has obvious appeal.  Many editing and research jobs are quite legitimate, but for each of those, many phony ones also exist.  One means of caution is to look for spelling, typographical or grammatical errors, and also to research the telephone number.  If the advertisement claims to be from a company, does looking into the telephone number bolster that claim, or refute it?  Another red flag, albeit an obvious one, is that no legitimate company is going to ask for money at the start of a job application process.

As with most things, caution and prudence are warranted.  But in times of emotional distress, when circumstances largely seem out of our control, we tend to act reflexively and impulsively.  By thinking of the right way to vet opportunities, and if need be hiring someone to do the research work for you, organizations and individuals can better protect themselves.  If 2020 has shown us anything, it’s that fraudsters thrive in times of crisis, and will seek any opportunity to use that crisis to their advantage.